AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost has given his evaluation of Yuki Tsunoda’s second F1 season up to now, saying he has seen stable progress from the Japanese racer.
After a blended rookie marketing campaign in 2021, Tsunoda began his sophomore marketing campaign properly by claiming factors finishes in three of the primary six Grands Prix (having failed to start out in Saudi Arabia amid technical bother).
And whereas AlphaTauri’s kind has usually been disappointing underneath the game’s new technical rules (leaving them eighth within the Constructors’ standings), Tsunoda seems to be getting on phrases with teammate Pierre Gasly in qualifying and race trim.
As issues stand, the skilled Gasly leads the qualifying head-to-heads by eight periods to 5, and holds 16 factors to Tsunoda’s 11.
Tost sees positive aspects from Tsunoda in second F1 season
Reviewing Tsunoda’s season up to now, Tost informed RacingNews365.com: “Yuki is bettering. I need to say his studying gradient goes up.
“He made a improbable qualifying at Paul Ricard, when he completed eighth. Sadly, within the race, [Esteban] Ocon crashed into him within the first lap. Due to this fact we needed to name him in [to the pits], as a result of the ground was broken closely, additionally the sidepod.
“This was a disgrace as a result of I am certain he would have completed good within the factors, in seventh or eighth place.
“However anyway, that is racing, and we are going to see now what is going on on within the second half of the season.”
Tost: Three years wanted to correctly choose Tsunoda
Tost added that given the calls for of modern-day F1, drivers must be given time to construct up their expertise and present their full potential.
“I am speaking about three years, as a result of the primary season for such a younger driver is simply flying away,” he stated.
“There are such a lot of new issues coming to him. Many race tracks he does not know. Then qualifying is at all times new for him, as a result of though he is aware of the observe, this isn’t the query.
“The query is, how is the solar shining? How a lot is the temperature altering? What is the wind doing? All this sort of stuff. You want expertise.
“Within the second yr, he learns all these items just a little bit. However to get actually deep into the main points, he wants a 3rd yr, and after three years you’ve gotten a transparent image of whether or not a driver can do it or not.”
Might Crimson Bull flip to anyone else?
As for the ultimate name on whether or not Tsunoda will keep for a 3rd season, Tost is aware of it’s as much as Crimson Bull and staff advisor Helmut Marko.
“It is a resolution from Crimson Bull on the finish. After all, [Tsunoda] has to ship,” said Tost.
“We additionally had drivers who did not provide you with the efficiency after one or two years they usually have been then dismissed from Crimson Bull.”
Crimson Bull’s junior pool consists of a number of F2 drivers, though Jehan Daruvala is the best-placed of the group in a distant fifth place.
Requested if there are any reasonable choices past Tsunoda at this stage, Tost commented: “Presently, it is tough to say. There are some drivers in System 2. However have they got the expertise and the pace to be subsequent yr already in System 1?
“It is tough to say now, as a result of there are nonetheless a variety of races to do. We’ll see.”